Save, Improve, and Upgrade

Do you want to make your home more energy efficient and at the same time make it more attractive to prospective buyers? With the high cost of electricity, natural gas and propane, prospective buyers are looking for energy-efficient homes. If you can take our advice and upgrade a few of the items in our list, you will make sure that your house stands out from the crowd and you will see a reduction in your monthly utility bills while you wait for it to be sold.  Here are the top 5 ways to increase the value and efficiency of your home.

Replace the Hot Water Heater with a Tankless Model

A tankless water heater supplies on-demand, continuous hot water. Buyers see them as a luxury item. You will quickly see that they save energy and money. A standard tank water heater will heat the water and then the water will immediately start cooling down, most times needing to be heated again before you use any of it! Thats called standby heat loss and it wastes money all year long. Choose a gas-powered whole-house tankless heateror electricity-powered single application models and you’ll cut your energy costs significantly. The buyer will be attracted to the fact they can take a shower while the laundry is running and someone is washing dishes and never run out of hot water.

Upgrade your Heating and Air Conditioning Components to Increase the Efficiency of the Unit

Real estate experts say that you might get as much as 80% of the cost of the system back in the sale of the house. In other words, if you invest $10,000 in a new, energy-efficient heat pump and air handler, it might increase the sale price by $8,000. You’ll cut your heating and cooling costs by up to 50% every month while awaiting a sale and that new, energy efficient HVAC system will definitely grab the attention of the cost-conscious buyer.

Add Insulation

Losing heated air through your attic can account for upwards of 15% waste on the average heating and air conditioning system in a regular house. Bringing your attic insulation up to a factor of R-40 to R-50, minimum, will save you money all year long because it also keeps energy-wasting hot air out of your living space in summer. List the upgrade in your marketing material and potential buyers will take notice.

Replace Old Windows

If you hope to sell your home in the next year, this might not be a cost-effective move. But if the sale is 3-5 years off, this is a good time to take this step especially if your windows are more than 20 years old. New, tight-fitting, low-E, energy-efficient windows really can make a significant difference. Not only will they look much better, but they will help in saving energy and also make it easy to sell your house.

Adding Solar Panels

With more emerging technologies and reasearch the price of solar panels is really beginning to decrease as we find new and more resourceful ways to use the sun for heating. Some HVAC systems are solar-ready, meaning the addition of a small PV solar panel can provide all the electricity needed to run a heat pump or central air conditioner. A potential buyer would really like hearing that they will not have any additional cost for their heating and cooling system usage!

You should take time to evaluate each of these and decide if any of them are the correct choice in your situation? An energy-wise investment in your home will cut your utility bills for as long as you live there and also make the home more attractive to potential buyers. These top 5 ways to increase the value and efficiency of your home might turn out to be an important investment with wonderful ROI.